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Labour pain

Dr Sears (the famous attachment parenting doctor) writes 'mothers hold on to your waters, they are there for a reason'. For the majority of women, the waters act as an extra cushion from the contractions. Many women describe feeling an increase in intensity of contractions once their waters break or are broken.

Doctors or midwives can break your waters, however, they should only do this with your consent. Sometimes it is used to try and speed up labour where things seem to be slowing down. However, having had my waters broken with my first and a completely natural labour with my second (where my waters broke on their own at 10cm dilation) I would not agree to have my waters broken in the future (unless it was completely medically necessary).

The artificial rupturing (breaking) of waters increases the woman's risk of infection. In most hospitals, once a woman has had her waters artificially broken she has then started the first step in medical interventions and may be advised to have an induction if labour does not occur naturally a certain time period after this (again, you have to agree to an induction as this also makes the birth higher risk).

They shouldn't do anything without your consent, but unfortunately that's often not the reality. It's hard to advocate for yourself while you're in labour, so make sure you have someone with you who can do that, either your partner, a doula or other support person.

Your consent is required for anything in labour from monitoring the baby's heartbeat to having a c-section. I had a doula in my last birth and I found my doula's presence to be an invaluable support to me. I knew that my doula thoroughly understood my birth wishes (and my preferences if the birth journey should take a certain course) and I have confidence that she would voice these wishes when I was unable to.

My husband was also an excellent source of support to me as my birth partner and I know he also felt confident and happy having our doula present.